I'm not going to chance it. I messaged the seller and he said to toss it out, he's sending a new one. I just left him positive feedback.

Even with only 9 good ones, this is still quite a deal. I do like the dry, detailed sound these have and I plan on sharing them with my good friend who also has an SE84-A and probably hasn't changed his tubes since I gave him a set 10 years ago.

I'm sorta on the lookout for another SE84-A, I've been wanting to run a pair of these in mono since day one to see what closer to 6 watts would sound like. But saving up for my Mystery amp comes first.

I'll have to try this tube in the rest of the zens I have , not totally discounting the 6n1p,because IT is a very stable tube in the Decware zens and torii amps. We must commend Rivieraranch for finding this fine alternative . Now to keep them from DYING?!?!?!

So I had a listening session using these tubes with a good friend of mine that also has an SE84-A (unmodified), plus a non-audiophile friend with decent ear. We decided these tubes aren't warm enough or liquid enough (compared to stock 6N1P), but they are great for detail. Definitely nice to have around for a different flavor. They also run cooler with less heater draw.

That has pretty much been my take with this tube type as well. And I put about a hundred hours or more on a pair. Not my cup of tea. But works well (electrically) and may be just the thing for someone else.

There are some nice deals on these tubes on ebay lately. I revisited this type with a sleeve of RCAs (branded Motorola) and they work really well as driver tubes in the CSP2+. Work well in the input tube position as well if you are needing more detail and drive. As noted above a bit deficient in the lower frequencies in this position.

Ultimately I prefer to use a pair of CCa in the driver position and a Siemens 7308 as an input, but even though I got all three of these at great low prices they cost 15 to 20 times as much each.

The late 50s RCA 6BQ7As are probably the warmest I have, pretty warm actually. Also some earlier GEs I have are warm, but more open, and some Westinghouse are relatively darkish mids down and open mids up. Seems most of them tend to have a bump of upper mid energy. British Brimar, Ediswan and Utron tend to be more open, with good frequency balance within the type... I liked this tube a lot for quite a while, often in the CSP3 input, but in the outputs too. They were really great when my system was tending a bit dark with the other tubes and cables and all I had in.

Interestingly, I put an Ediswan 6BQ7A in the CSP3 the other day to open things up due to burnin muck. Sounds great with this setup.

I think they are really good tubes in general and amazing value for the quality if you need to open and speed up the sound some. If the balance of the rest is a bit darkish/denser/slower, they can balance things really nicely. If the balance is more neutral with 6N1Ps, they may be too bright/open, some of the British ones tending to be a little more so, especially the Brimars I have. I think compared to most inputs, these tend to create more spacious mids and top a little more than most.

I never liked 6N1Ps because of clipping in my Torii at too low a volume for me, but also because they are missing micro detail I need, whereas 6BQ7As tend to be good at micro detail. The thing I don't like is a little veil in the mids of some of the type...it is a weird sort of veil, the notes quite articulate and with a lot of micro information, but with a darkish feel to the low mids.